What is the most challenging aspect of your job? “As with anyone in public accounting, our greatest challenges are workload compression and standards/regulations overload. In the field of taxation, we face the frustration of Congress and the General Assembly passing legislation late in the calendar year or early in the subsequent year (when tax software already has been developed and approved by the IRS) without considering the practical application. Unlike the past, the majority of tax returns are now prepared between March 15 and April 15 or placed on extension due to missing information from third-party providers.”

Are taxes for U.S. corporations too high? “Currently taxes on corporate income over $100,000 are 34-plus percent. The taxation of the first $100,000 of corporate earnings has not changed for as long as I have been in public accounting. Small businesses are the backbone of many communities, particularly in the Hampton Roads area, and often exceed $100,000 in the early years of operation. We need to restructure the corporate tax brackets to allow small businesses to have the revenue to expand and create jobs in our communities. This would require increasing the amounts of income that are taxed at the 15 and 25 percent rates.”

How should the federal tax system be simplified? “In my opinion, the federal tax system will never be simplified. We currently make changes to the Internal Revenue Code using the ‘finger in the dam’ approach. To make effective simplification of the system, the code needs to be reviewed in its entirety by a qualified team of individuals who are well versed in the practical application of the tax code as well as in tax law and budgeting. They should be charged with reviewing and restructuring the code for overall effectiveness, cost/benefit, ease of application and revenue impact. If we continue as we have in the past, the federal tax system will only increase in complexity.”